Mahieddine Bachtarzi (15 December 18976 February 1986) was an Algerian singer of opera (tenor), actor, writer and director of the TNA (Théâtre National Algérien). He was also the author of some 400 musical works, with a career that spanned over 70 years, gaining many honors throughout his life.

Early life

Mahieddine Bachtarzi was born on 15 December 1897 in the

Casbah of Algiers The Casbah ( ar, قصبة, ''qaṣba'', meaning citadel) is the citadel of Algiers in Algeria and the traditional quarter clustered around it. In 1992, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed ' ...

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into a wealthy family.. Attending

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at the Medersa Ben Osman Sheikh, at the age of fifteen he was entrusted, due to the exceptional quality of his voice, as a reciter of the Qur'an at the Great Mosque of Algiers. However, preferring the limelight to the austerity of the prayer hall, he quickly abandoned the mosque to focus exclusively on singing.

Career

In 1925, he had been acclaimed by the French press as the

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equivalent of Caruso, and in 1926 he inaugurated the new

Paris Mosque The Grand Mosque of Paris (french: Grande Mosquée de Paris), also known as the Great Mosque of Paris or simply the Paris Mosque, is located in the 5th arrondissement and is one of the largest mosques in France. There are prayer rooms, an outdoo ...

with the first call to prayer.. By the early 1930s he had established his own musical troupe that specialized in mixing North African music with popular theatre. Blending French with spoken

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

, his songs had explicit political overtones which led one collection to be banned in 1937 for anti-French sentiment.. For decades he occupied the center stage of various artistic events in which he participated in the field of singing, music and theater performances, interpreters, material conditions (rooms, decorating and staging) and organizing provincial tours and abroad.

Death and legacy

Bachtarzi died on 6 February 1986. The Mahieddine Bachtazi Theatre, formerly known as the Algiers Opera House, was renamed in his memory.

References

Bibliography

* *. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bachtarzi, Mahieddine 1897 births 1986 deaths Algerian people of Turkish descent Algerian opera singers Algerian male stage actors 20th-century Algerian male singers 20th-century Algerian male actors People from Casbah 20th-century male opera singers